Comments on: Buell 1190RR From Erik Buell Racing – 185 RWHP

By: hoyt

hoyt — Fri, 26 Mar 2010 03:53:38 +0000

SteveD – you’re right about the 1125R mandate to not have a full fairing.

The online CW article mentioned it. Brighter days ahead for Buell power and customers!

By: hoyt

hoyt — Sat, 06 Mar 2010 00:40:35 +0000

The Rotax did come at a bad time: economically (2nd year) & at a time when HD still didn’t change.
Even if the 1125R looked as good as the above bike & the economy was good*, the dealers would still have been a major problem.

*btw…the economy didn’t unravel when this bike was introduced

By: SteveD

SteveD — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 16:47:26 +0000

OK, I think we just have to disagree on this point. I think the ultimate problem with Buell was the modified Sportster engine, and the high hp Rotax came at a bad time economically. I think they were advertising in the right places and not enough potential buyers actually wanted the bike.

By: hoyt

hoyt — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 15:51:51 +0000

I thought of the Willie G announcement for the VRod & its subsequent lower than expected sales success; but I didn’t mention it because the announcement also represented the culmination of a bold, significant effort by a company that does not take those steps. A liquid-cooled cruiser from Harley?! Yeah, this is gonna take some hoo-Rah marketing to get the crusty faithful to think.

So, Willie G making a collaborative announcement with Buell? There are parallels with the sportbike doubters. Again, the purpose is not along the lines of “sportbike riders not listening to Willie G”, but a demonstration that the parent company is diligently behind this investment & ready to make changes. That perception was not present for a large % of those prospective sportbike buyers prior to the 1125 launch.

This was the chance for HD/Buell to go beyond the niche/enthusiast buyer and tap into the healthy sportbike market. In hindsight, the styling, the press launch bikes, & lack of rallying from the parent didn’t change much for many sportbike riders outside of the niche.

This type of corporate rallying & use of the goodwill of a company are quite common in many industries.

By: SteveD

SteveD — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 13:34:17 +0000

I think that HD was in serious financial trouble because of their finance company. They went into survival mode and Buell got chucked.

My local HD dealer always had Buells prominently displayed. I never saw anyone sit on them. I think in the end the air cooled Buells were neither fish nor fowl and didn’t have enough of a market. The Bike at the top of this column (most have probably forgotten it by now might have succeeded but the economic timing was wrong.

As for Willie G. introducing a Buell, I find that funny for two reasons. First, I don’t think anyone interested in a sportbike would listen to Willie G. Second, the V-Rod hasn’t exactly been a huge success for HD either.

I’m not trying to simply defend HD; I’m just not convince that Buell ever had a real chance with those air-cooled bikes. I really think that they were well enough known to make it if enough folks had wanted those bikes. Many Euro brands have far fewer dealerships and make it, so even if only a subset of HD dealerships really cared it shouldn’t have been a total bust. The sad part of all this is that I’m not sure a small company can make a go of it with an American Sportbike. The Buell/HD model might have been the best we could hope for, i,.e., a fairly independent comapny supported by a richer one. There are small cruiser makes (Big Dog) but the technology and R&D is much simpler. If HD had given Buell the Revolution engine maybe they could have made something like the Roehr for an affordable price.